Sunday, June 19, 2016

All American 5k

I did this race back in 2013 and I remember it being hard, but I don't remember it being shitty. They call this the 'fastest 5k', and you think that's because it's downhill. Guess what? It's not all downhill. Why didn't I remember this from last time? I'm sure I mentioned it in my blog post. There are two long uphills that just kind of suck. The downhill portions are beautiful. My first mile was an 8:16 pace. Of course I couldn't hold on to it. I walked 4 different times to catch my breath. I finished in 27:59 with a 9:01 pace. My goal for this race was to come in under 28 minutes. Mission accomplished by 1 second! Woot! But...I'm getting slower. Ugh, need to work on speed a bit more.

Awesome finish photo.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

KT82 2016

This was my second KT82 relay race, and it was cooler and wetter than the previous year! We were also short a runner, so that was a lot of fun. I was supposed to have 3 legs, but did 4 instead... which meant I was running just under 15 miles with not a lot of training. I've been trying to do a 6 mile run every weekend, but that's about it (not counting some 3 milers here and there).

I was up at 3:30 am (felt Dopey again) and met up with everyone at 4:15 am so we could pick up the rental car and be at the race start at 5:30 am.

Team Mo' Problems, Mo' Miles.
I started the race at 6 am, and just after the start there was a strong downpour. It felt awesome, but we were running through a field and my shoes felt so heavy. I also started out last and didn't pass anyone, so that was a bit defeating. But, I ran fast for me, a 9:21 min/mile. So I think everyone was just fast.

I was running again a short while later since I was runner 5. The rain had let up at this point, but half of my leg was single track trail, and it was messy. It would have been so much fun if it was dry. I hate muddy trails. Since I walked a lot of those trails and took it easy so I wouldn't slip, my pace for this leg was 12:24. Ugh. Pretty common pace for me on trails though.

Transition after my 2nd leg.
I had some time to rest, and two legs left (pun intended, badum tsss). It was getting warmer and my legs felt so heavy. My third leg was probably the toughest. I didn't want to let my team down, but I was so sick of running. Why did I have a smile on my face at the start of this leg???

Start of my 3rd leg.
I didn't feel like I was smiling inside... but I was obviously enjoying myself. This portion was so straight and so boring. So I was mentally driving myself nuts. And I got attacked by a bee at mile 3, so much so that I screamed. But I got it done and finished with a 9:23 pace. How the heck did that happen?? Only one leg left...

Fourth leg wasn't as bad since it was my last! I ran the first mile, and then each 1/2 mile I would walk and drink some Gatorade. Another mental game, but I really wanted to walk most of it, so that kept me focused. It also started to cloud up which was a blessing. There was a nice breeze as well. My finish pace was 9:58 min/mile, and I was happy with that because it could have easily been a 10:30 pace.

Done with my 4th and final leg!
I celebrated with a Bud Light after my finish. The team finished with a time of 12 hours, 2 minutes and 16 seconds. A pace of 8:49. We beat our time from last year!!

Finish photo.